Rex McGee
"Cm"
from 24 Creations for Solo Banjo

OK - I'm not a banjo fan, but I will never, ever make another banjo joke after listening to this beautiful album - and you may not either. The twenty-four tracks on this album, written after a cross-country trip, are in each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys. Like the set of Bach etudes for cello, it feels like much more than a mere exercise. It is more like a cycle of poems or prayers. The banjo sometimes has echoes of the Appalachian style, sometimes seems downright classical. Sometimes the instrument sounds like a harp; in other pieces, McGee runs it through a quiet, distorting guitar amp.

While I think you should hear the full album to get the sense of its subtle shifts and sheer variety of styles, you can listen to some of the tracks in Real Audio online and can download "Cm" - described here as a "soothing baroquish waltzy thing." The track is the only free download listed among the tracks you can preview at: http://www.efolkmusic.com/ViewTracks.asp?Artist=Rex+McGee

Read more on Rex McGee, a young, relatively unknown North Carolina musician, including rave reviews from Bela Fleck and others on this page.
http://www.efolkmusic.com/ViewArtist.asp?Artist=Rex+McGee

Another fine pick by the folks at efolkmusic.com, which is probably the only place you can get this CD. You can say you discovered him way back at the turn of the century....

Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com